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In celebration of 2023, the Year of the Rabbit, the National Palace Museum of Korea (Director: Kim In Kyu), an affiliate of the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, has selected “Silver Ewer with Incised Rabbit and Crow Designs” as its “Curator’s Choice from the Royal Treasures” for the month of January. Starting January 2, the ewer will be on display in the Korean Empire Gallery located on the first floor of the museum. It will also be presented online in a YouTube broadcast on the channels of the Cultural Heritage Administration and the National Palace Museum.

* Cultural Heritage Administration YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/chluvu

* National Palace Museum of Korea YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/gogungmuseum1100

Silver ewers were used to serve liquor or water during ancestral rites and at banquets in the royal court. Overall, the ewer presented as this month’s curator’s choice is made of silver. However, the areas featuring designs and a section of the lid have been gilded. The base features an inscription in Hangeul mixed with Chinese characters, reading “십실十室.” The center of the body is incised on the front and back respectively with a design of a three-legged crow and a design of a rabbit pounding something with a mortar and pestle. The lid has a knob in the form of a lotus bud and designs of bats symbolizing good fortune incised on its surface.

Rabbits have long been considered a symbol of fertility and wisdom. Above all else, they have been associated with the representation of pounding the elixir of immortality with a mortar and pestle based on ancient tales involving the Queen Mother of the West. It is for this reason that rabbits have come to represent the moon. The royal protocols (uigwe) on banquets for Emperor Gojong and Emperor Sunjong featured an item identical to this month’s Curator’s Choice, indicating that it was used at royal banquets.

*Queen Mother of the West: A Daoist goddess who appears in ancient Chinese legend, she is believed to have lived in the Kunlun Mountains in the land of the immortals.

The National Palace Museum of Korea houses a number of interesting items related to rabbits. In addition to Silver Ewer with Incised Rabbit and Crow Designs, items such as a flag featuring a design of the moon and a rabbit can be viewed in the Royal Rituals of the Joseon Dynasty Gallery on the B1 floor of the museum. Moreover, this month’s Curator’s Choice will be presented virtually through a video with Korean and English subtitles on the museum’s website (gogung.go.kr) and on the YouTube channels of the museum and the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea. These can be enjoyed by anyone without the need to visit the gallery.